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Blood test for alcohol dependence

It may one day be possible to predict who might be at risk of cannabis and alcohol dependence from a simple blood test.

21 05 2003

Is it possible to predict who might be at risk of cannabis and alcohol dependence from a blood test?

Well, according to research from Colorado it might be. In a five-country project, including Australia, they studied men and women at all levels of drinking from abstention to those in detox for full-blown alcohol problems.

They were looking for what they call biological markers; signs in the blood of drinking history and predisposition to alcohol dependence.

Their first target was an enzyme called adenylyl cyclase, which is lower in people who are alcohol-dependent and who have stopped drinking for several years. This suggested that adenylyl cyclase could be an indicator of risk; perhaps a deficiency marks a person as someone who needs to be careful with booze.

But the study also found that this enzyme was affected by cannabis use in people dependent on the weed. Active alcohol and cannabis use seems to raise the cyclase levels, and one theory is that people prone to dependence are actually treating their enzyme deficiency, which, by the way is associated with a family history of depression and alcohol use.

Itís very early days but potentially the positive uses of the test could be to identify people at risk. The worrying aspect is that it could be used by employers and insurance companies, who might insist on testing.